


Bury Me 'Til I Confess

by Kapua



Series: Just the Beating of Hearts (Flash Challenge) [1]
Category: The Witcher (TV), Wiedźmin | The Witcher (Video Game), Wiedźmin | The Witcher - All Media Types, Wiedźmin | The Witcher Series - Andrzej Sapkowski
Genre: F/F, Flash Fiction, Swords, Yennaia
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-14
Updated: 2020-08-14
Packaged: 2021-03-06 05:08:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 915
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25887847
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kapua/pseuds/Kapua
Summary: With their chaos temporarily gone post-Sodden, Yennefer and Tissaia practice more mundane ways of doing battle.Prompt: Yennefer and Tissaia get into a sword duel.
Relationships: Tissaia de Vries/Yennefer z Vengerbergu | Yennefer of Vengerberg
Series: Just the Beating of Hearts (Flash Challenge) [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1878580
Comments: 17
Kudos: 62





	Bury Me 'Til I Confess

**Author's Note:**

> Part of the flash fiction challenge!

"Again."

Yennefer swears under her breath but adjusts her stance and faces Tissaia. Her hands are sweaty where they're gripped around the hilt of her swords, and she wishes there was time to wipe her palms on her shirt before they begin. But Tissaia is already launching herself at Yennefer with a flurry of strikes, the clear ring of steel on steel echoing across the courtyard as they spar.

This is what they do now, while they wait for their chaos to return. She can't say it's what she thought she'd do with her days while in recovery, but it's good. It gives her something to do, something to keep her mind busy and away from the dark memories she'd rather not dwell on. And it also gives her a reason to spend more time with Tissaia.

It's the smaller woman's doing that they've even begun this new ritual. As soon as they were both well enough to be up and about, Tissaia had instructed Yennefer to meet her in the main courtyard of the castle they'd taken temporary shelter in. She didn't give any reasoning, just told her to wear clothing she could move easily in.

The first thing that caught Yennefer's eye when she walked up was that Tissaia wasn't wearing a dress--she'd been in dark brown trousers and leather boots with a loose white shirt rolled up at the sleeves. The second was the array of swords and weapons spread out on a low rock ledge at the edge of the courtyard.

"Pick one." Tissaia had tipped her chin at the selection and stood with her hands laced together in front of her. 

Yennefer had laughed, thinking this was a joke of some sort, but the smaller woman's serious expression caused the sound to die in her throat as she blinked. She'd scanned the different weapons and decided on a whim to grab two smaller swords, knowing it would grate on Tissaia's nerves that she hadn't listened to the directive to choose one. 

As soon as the swords were in her hand, she'd been shocked to see Tissaia reach out and grasp a short blade before pivoting into the courtyard and motioning for Yennefer to follow.

"You can't be serious," Yennefer had muttered, and Tissaia had arched a brow.

"You're vulnerable without your magic. Until it comes back, you need to be able to defend yourself in more...mundane ways." Her lip had curled a little as she spoke, her disdain for regular combat clear.

Yennefer had looked Tissaia up and down with a smirk. "Like I'll even have to try to defend myself against you. You're half my size, and I've got double the swords." She'd twirled both weapons in a showy display to prove her point, but Tissaia's face remained neutral. "Fine," Yennefer had scoffed, "Come on then. Let's get this over with."

She'd squared her feet and faced Tissaia, certain this was to be nothing but a momentary diversion. She was no expert swordsman by any stretch, but she'd trained with various sharp implements over the years and knew enough to get by.

Tissaia had nodded at Yennefer, signaling that she could make the first move, and the younger woman had lunged forward. Before she even knew what was happening, Tissaia had somehow ducked under both of her blades and had the needle-sharp point of her sword at Yennefer's throat. There was a gleam in the smaller woman's eye as she pulled away.

"Again."

Since then Yennefer has tried every possible strategy, but she still loses more often than not. Tissaia is small and absurdly fast, and though Yenenfer wouldn't have expected it after seeing her in those stuffy dresses for so many years, the other woman is remarkably talented with a blade. She'll never admit it, but she's learned quite a bit just from watching Tissaia's footwork and the way she thinks five strikes ahead. It's not Yennefer's style and probably never will be, but she can still appreciate the benefit of not charging in with no plan whatsoever. 

Their sessions now are more of a dance than anything. They move fluidly around each other, circling and feinting and constantly searching for an opening in the other's defense. It's almost meditative, except most meditation Yennefer has tried doesn't end with sore muscles and sweat-covered skin, tiny nicks in her flesh from where they cut things a little too close.

She gives ground when Tissaia launches an unexpected attack, and in a flash she sees what she's been waiting for. She raises one sword as if to attack and when Tissaia moves to parry, Yennefer shoves forward and carries them both to the ground with her momentum. As the dust settles around them, she grins down at Tissaia and wiggles the point of her second sword, which is resting in the hollow of the smaller woman's throat. 

Tissaia looks up at her with eyes that are just a hair darker than normal, flickers of emotion racing across her face faster than the younger mage can track. It makes her shiver and she wonders idly what the smaller woman would do if she leaned down to kiss her. She banishes the thought from her mind ( _for now_ ) and rolls off, offering Tissaia her hand to help tug her to her feet. Tissaia's lips curl into a smile that's raw and sends a thrill of excitement racing through Yennefer's body as she steps back to resume their starting positions.

"Again."

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to all for reading! There will be a series of these shorter ones coming out in the next week, but I'll still be finishing up the wild west AU and the art teacher AU at the same time :)


End file.
